Report: Perry to announce, sort of, on Saturday

I’m a bit surprised that he’d bigfoot the straw poll and deny the winner his/her day in the sun, but it’s good strategy. If, as expected, Bachmann wins, he needs to short-circuit her buzz and blunt her momentum ASAP before she consolidates more of the tea-party votes he needs. If Ron Paul or Pawlenty pulls the upset, then having Perry enter just as Bachmann hits the iceberg will make him an obvious choice to pick up her supporters as they abandon ship. Either way, he can’t waste a moment in taking her on, especially with Palin ready to enter and compete for those same voters. Frankly, I half-expect to see him in the front row at the debate on Thursday night, scowling at Romney and punching his fist into the palm of his other hand.